Mandarine

Description

The Mandarin orange, also known as the mandarin or mandarine , is a small citrus tree (Citrus reticulata) with fruit resembling other oranges. Mandarin oranges are usually eaten plain or in fruit salads. Specifically reddish-orange mandarin cultivars can be marketed as tangerines, but this is not a botanical classification. When exporting began, local Mandarin oranges were named after their port of origin.The tree is more drought-tolerant than the fruit. The mandarin is tender and is damaged easily by cold. It can be grown in tropical and subtropical areas.

According to molecular studies, the mandarin, the citron, the pomelo, and the papeda were the ancestors of all other citrus species and their varieties, through breeding or natural hybridization; mandarins are therefore all the more important as the only sweet fruit among the parental species.The mandarin orange is a variety of the orange family.

Cultivars and crosses between the original mandarin and other citrus fruits include:Satsuma (Citrus unshiu), a seedless variety, of which there are over 200 cultivars, such as Owari and mikan; the source of most canned mandarins, and popular as a fresh fruit due to its ease of consumptionOwari, a well-known Satsuma cultivar that ripens during the late fall seasonClementine, sometimes known as a "Christmas orange", as its peak season is winter; becoming the most important commercial Mandarin orange form, having displaced mikans in many marketsTangerineTangor, also called the temple orange, a cross between the Mandarin orange and the common sweet orange; its thick rind is easy to peel and its bright orange pulp is sour-sweet and full-flavored

Canned and peeled mandarin orange segments Kinnow, a variety of Mandarin orange developed by Dr H.B. Frost. Closeup of mandarin treeThe mandarin is easily peeled with the fingers, starting at the thick rind covering the depression at the top of the fruit, and can be easily split into even segments without squirting juice. This makes it convenient to eat, as utensils are not required to peel or cut the fruit.

Canned mandarin segments are peeled to remove the white pith prior to canning; otherwise, they turn bitter. Segments are peeled using a chemical process. First, the segments are scalded in hot water to loosen the skin; then they are bathed in a lye solution, which digests the albedo and membranes. Finally, the segments undergo several rinses in plain water.Citrus fruits are usually self-fertile (needing only a bee to move pollen within the same flower) or parthenocarpic (not needing pollination and therefore seedless, such as the satsuma).

Blossoms from the Dancy cultivar are one exception. They are self-sterile, and therefore must have a pollinator variety to supply pollen, and a high bee population to make a good crop. The fruit is oblate.Mandarin oranges, particularly Satsumas from Japan, are a Christmas tradition in Canada, as well as the United States and Russia. They are commonly purchased in 5- or 10-pound boxes, individually wrapped in soft green paper, and given in Christmas stockings. This custom goes back to the 1880s, when Japanese immigrants began receiving Japanese mandarin oranges from their families back home as gifts for the New Year. Mandarine has a very complex odour unlike any other citrus oil , it is vibrating fresh orangy and slightly fishy , which makes it very special and unique. Even though it is an expensive oil but you need only very small quantities to make your accords alive. Mandarine is specially very effective for Oriental Accords.